With Love

Mother’s Day 2012 coincides with a torrent of great titles for mom—in fact, great titles, period. Jimmy So picks the best, from Hilary Mantel’s new hit and Anna Quindlen’s memoir to posthumous work from M.F.K. Fisher, America’s greatest-ever food writer.

Mothers might remember the ground-breaking “Life in the 30s” column that Anna Quindlen launched for The New York Times 25 years ago, for which she won a Pultizer Prize. She returns with a “Life in the 50s” memoir that moms can relate to, thanks to her lucid, plainspoken observations.

The novelist of The Cider House Rules and A Prayer for Owen Meany turns to issues of sexual identity in this eagerly-awaited return. It’s a candidly adult novel filled with passion—in fact, it looks at passion from almost every angle possible.

By now you must know about Fifty Shades of Grey—tell me you've seen the hilarious SNL sketch this past week. Is your Inner Goddess telling you to get this book for mom as a joke? It might be poorly written, but it’s so entertainingly poorly written that she’d burst out laughing, “Holy Cow!”

A part of our childhood died a little with the passing of Maurice Sendak. Remember the first time you read a Sendak book? It’s probably the moment when you realized you grew up a little. Thank your mother for sharing this American treasure with you—let her know that you understand the challenge and sacrifice of raising a child with this moving tale of a girl who has to rescue her baby sister from goblins.

Athill is the preeminent memoirist of old age, and her newest installment makes it clear that life sometimes gets a whole lot more interesting after retirement—especially if you publish your first best-selling book at the age of 82.

Chances are that Carey, who’s won two Man Booker prizes, will speak to most readers he reaches, male or female, father or mother. This story about a woman forced to mourn in secret gets to the center of discovery—even discovery about the nature of the universe.

Few diplomats have had a more turbulent childhood (Albright’s Jewish family was forced into exile just before the outset of World War II) and gone on to more distinguished careers. Prague Winter blends that historical upheaval with her family saga.

Another pick that’s likely not for the type of mom who takes things the wrong way. But if yours is interested in the psychological battle that goes into every family relationship, Bechdel’s new instant classic will be treasured. The pioneering graphic-novelist’s mother isn’t exactly thrilled that her daughter’s a lesbian, and Bechdel loathed showing the book to her. But there’s no shame in presenting a masterpiece.